The present invention relates to the field of food preparation and, more particularly, to a device and a method for the preparation of fluid food from formula at a desired consumption temperature. The present invention is useful, for example, in preparing food for infants.
The need for substitutes for mother's milk predates history with biblical and legendary references to human or canine, especially lupine, wet nurses as alternatives for mothers who were unable to nurse their babies. While wet nurses are still the alternative most approximating mother's milk, milk substitutes prepared from powdered or liquid formulas are now the preferred alternative. Most present-day baby caregivers use commercially available formulas for preparing fluid food to feed the babies in their care. The use of formula generally involves the following five steps:
1. Water is heated, generally by boiling for a few seconds, and then cooled to near a consumption temperature;
2. An appropriate amount of powdered or concentrated formula is placed in a serving vessel such as a baby bottle;
3. An appropriate amount of the cooled sterilized water is put into the serving vessel;
4. A fluid food is achieved by mixing, for example by vigorous agitation of the serving vessel; and
5. The temperature of the fluid food is tested. If the temperature is not the proper consumption temperature, steps are taken to either increase or decrease the temperature of the food as may be required.
Because infants must be fed approximately five or six times a day, it is not uncommon that this process takes place in the middle of the night. Moreover, it is commonly carried out with one hand while holding a hungry and screaming infant in the other hand. As a result there is a demand for a device that quickly and easily prepares ready to consume fluid food, especially for infants. Further, as all these steps are manual, the temperature at which the food is served is not precise. Many such devices are known in the art, all with certain limitations and none that prepare, on demand, a bottle of fluid food from formula at a desired consumption temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,276 discloses a device that attempts to solve the stated problem, by allowing a caregiver to prepare a bottle with the desired formula in advance of its need. The device therein disclosed heats and agitates an already prepared bottle of fluid food.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,352,460 provides a device for storing and dispensing liquid formula. This device employs two compartments, one for heating water and another for cooling the water by refrigeration. The device has a number of drawbacks, including not sufficiently sterilizing the water; dispensing the fluid food at too high a temperature so that it must cool in the bottle before serving. The food is therefore not ready on demand and the baby is in risk of being burned. Overheating may reduce the nutritional value of the food. Further, not all the food may be consumed. Even further, there are no provisions for the addition of any ingredients to the food beyond water and formula.
Other attempts made to address the need for prepared fluid food for infants, include:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,031 which discloses a device for preparing fluid food from formula at a baby's bedside. The device does not sterilize the water used, does not provide for the addition of other ingredients, and the baby must wait for the food to reach consumption temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,445 shows a device that provides a complex method of separating the components of fluid food for convenient mixing at a later time, preferably by agitation of the bottle in order to cause the formula to dissolve in the water. It makes no provision for preparing fluid food at a desired consumption temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,816 shows a device which only begins heating food when activated by the user, requiring the infant to wait. In addition, the device does not boil the water long enough for it to be sufficiently sterilized and it makes no provision for the addition of other ingredients to the food.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,313 shows a device governed by a timer which allows a user to determine when a bottle of fluid food made from formula will be ready. This is a useful feature if it is known precisely when the infant will wake up in the middle of the night. If the infant wishes to eat at times other than the set times or to consume different amounts of food at different times, the device must be activated and the infant must wait for the food to be prepared and heated to the desired consumption temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,118,933 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,028 disclose a device for preparing fluid food from formula which uses filtered water, rather than boiling the water for sterilization.
PCT WO97/47224 discloses a multiple bottle preparing device which heats up a bottle of fluid food to consumption temperature when activated. This device provides certain advantages for caregivers with multiple babies to feed but still requires the infant to wait for a bottle of food to be brought to the desired consumption temperature.
There exist many other devices which mix ingredients in order to prepare fluid food which are used in the food service industry, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,218,175; U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,125; U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,862; U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,370; U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,860; U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,593 and British Patent GB 2 019 813 A. These devices are not compatible with infant formula.
In addition, it is known that many infants have special nutrition needs, ranging from those with preferences for different consumption temperatures to those that require medication or other additives or specific combination of ingredients and additives in their food. A device that can individualize the composition of fluid food according to specific requirements and automatically prepare and provide that food on-demand does not exist.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a device for the preparation of fluid food from formula that overcomes the disadvantages of prior art devices.